


when the thoughts of yesterday bring you to where you are

by GhostQueen



Category: Lab Rats: Elite Force (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Biblical Scripture References (Abrahamic Religions), Canon-Typical Violence, Comic Book Science, Coming Out, Domestic Bliss, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Internalized Homophobia, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Third Person Limited, True Love's Kiss, Unhealthy Relationships, i pick and choose from canon like it's an all you can eat salad bar, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25025056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhostQueen/pseuds/GhostQueen
Summary: Growing up is already hard enough. Throw in a pair of religious parents, an AWOL older sister, a hopeless crush, superheroes, a failed romance with a secret supervillain, and insane amounts of self-hatred then you pretty much get the story of Kaz's life. In short, it kinda sucks. Thankfully, he gains some people in his life that make it not suck. Shapeshifters also suck....(Or, "Kaz's Life Throughout the Years")
Relationships: (one-sided) Kaz/Oliver, Chase Davenport/Kaz, Chase Davenport/Reese, Chase Davenport/Sebastian, Kaz/Experion, slight Oliver/Skylar Storm
Comments: 37
Kudos: 83





	1. The Younger Years (Ages 4-12)

**Author's Note:**

> hi, if you're coming from one of my other fanfictions and are like "woah what the fuck is this" and ended up here, i'm sorry, but I had to barf out this garbage or i would actually die. normally, i would post chapters separately to savor the attention i get, but there are like maybe two people that care about this show/ship, so i've decided to just post them all at once. 
> 
> i just rewatched this show and it's parent shows and now that i'm an adult i see that, combined, these shows had a budget of $7 and half a PB&J. i also can't believe they dragged Ryan Potter into this mess. yet somehow i couldn't stop watching. i was reminded how much i love everyone but Oliver. Mighty Med Oliver was kind of cute and wholesome with his crush on Skylar, but Skylar needs to get a restraining order on Elite Force Oliver ASAP. idk what happened to that kid, but something ain't right. 
> 
> anyways, on with the story. 
> 
> (title from "Boys Will Be Boys" by Benny)

When Kaz is four, everything is simple. He goes to preschool, he pretends to learn something, and then he goes home. 

That’s when he meets Oliver. 

Kaz isn’t exactly picky about who he plays with since he’s just excited to be around kids his own age after being surrounded by his older siblings all day everyday, but Oliver seems nice enough. 

He doesn’t like messes and always cleans up the toys after they’re done playing with them. 

Kaz lays his mat next to Oliver during nap time and pretends to sleep while the teachers are watching, but he always ended up falling asleep anyway. 

-

When Kaz is six, he meets Stefanie. She moved here in the middle of the school year. She’s blonde and wears sparkly dresses to class everyday. She also has a pink Power Ranger backpack that he thinks that is the coolest thing ever. 

He’s telling his mom about how Stefanie got a new lunch box with the yellow Power Ranger on it when she asks him if he has a crush on Stephanie. 

Kaz doesn’t really know. If thinking Stefanie is cool means he has a crush on her, then he guesses he has a crush on her. 

The next day at school, Kaz tells Oliver and he tells him girls have cooties. Kaz doesn’t know what those are, but he nods like he does. 

-

When Kaz is eight, he figures out that he can’t read as well as the other kids. The letters just get jumbled on the page and he just can’t understand what it means. 

Even if Kaz can’t be smart like Oliver, he are still pretty good at making people, especially Oliver, laugh. He might as well try to be funny to make up for his lack of reading comprehension. 

The teachers just dismiss him as “disruptive” and inform his parents about his behavior, but they don’t really care. His parents haven’t really cared since Kyle was born. Now, Kaz is just another middle child. 

At least the attention of his peers gives him some semblance of the attention he yearns for at home. 

Besides, hearing Olivier laugh is worth it. It makes Kaz happy when Oliver’s happy. 

-  
  
When Kaz is ten, he learns that family doesn’t last forever.

His older sister, Kara, is packing a duffle bag. He’s watching her dart around the room, picking up various belongings. 

“Where are you going?” Kaz asks from the doorway to her room. 

She doesn’t spare him a glance as she stuffs another shirt into her bag, “Away.” 

That didn’t really answer his question, so he tries again, “Why?”

“Ask mom,” Kara sneers before looking up and seeing his hurt expression. She calms down a bit, “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here any longer. Mom and dad made that very clear.”

“What did you do?” he asks quietly. Kaz has no idea what could be so bad that his parents would kick their fifteen-year-old daughter out of their house. 

She gives a humorless laugh, “I didn’t do anything. It’s what I am.” 

“That doesn’t make sense.” 

“It will.” She says cryptically as she zips up the bag and makes her way to the doorway, “For your sake, I hope you never grow up to be like me, but, if you do, don’t let them know,” she pauses and lays a hand on his shoulder, “Take care of yourself, Kaz.” 

That still doesn’t make any sense, but he nods anyways. 

She nods back and moves past him to leave the room. There’s a sense of finality attached to her words and Kaz feels like he won’t see her again. 

The next day, he asks his mom why Kara left and she firmly tells him that he’s never to speak his sister’s name again. According to his mother, Kara isn’t part of their family anymore, because she’s a “deviant”. 

Kaz can’t comprehend how Kara, his kind and compassionate older sister, could possibly be bad, but he knows better than to challenge the logic of his mother. 

-

When Kaz is twelve, he’s able to understand what his sister was trying to tell him. 

He just started middle school and that’s when he sees some 8th graders shove Oliver into his locker. 

“Hey!” Kaz marches right up to them, “What gives you the right to pick on my friend!?” 

From an outsider’s perspective, he’s sure it’s a funny view. He’s a puny 6th grader trying to stand up to two 8th graders that are on the football team. He never had a chance.

They laugh in his face. 

Asshole Number 1, as Kaz has dubbed him in his head, nudges his friend, “Looks like the nerd’s boyfriend has come to save the day.” 

Asshole Number 2 smirks and Kaz can feel his confidence draining, “You want to join your boyfriend in the lockers, huh, loverboy?”

He don’t have the opportunity to defend himself before they’ve shoved him in the locker next to Oliver. 

“Hey, assholes!” Kaz hears a girls voice call out from down the hallway and then pained grunting.

After a few moments, he hears sneakers running in the opposite direction and the lockers open. 

Standing before him is a blonde girl that’s slightly taller than him with a black beanie. She offers Kaz her hand, “You alright?”

He’s apprehensive, but takes it, “Yeah, thanks to you.”

She shrugs as she pulls him out of the locker, “Don’t mention it. I just hate assholes.”

That startles a laugh out of him, “That’s something we got in common.” 

Moving to help Oliver out of the locker, he asks, “How did you get the lockers open? Weren’t they locked?”

“Oh they were,” she says, but doesn’t elaborate, “I’m Jordan by the way.”

“I’m Kaz and this,” he yanks Oliver out of the locker, “Is Oliver.”

Oliver waves, “Hi, thanks for saving us,” he moves away from Kaz’s side.

Jordan rolls her eyes, “Whatever. Just know that I now have a favor from each of you that I will cash in on it whenever the time comes. Got it?”

Kaz looks at Oliver and then back at Jordan, “Got it.”

She nods and walks away without another word. 

Oliver awkwardly turns to Kaz, “That was… eventful.”

“Yeah,” Kaz doesn’t really know what else to say.

“Kaz…” He starts hesitantly, “Maybe you shouldn’t try to defend me again. I don’t want people getting the wrong idea about us. It’ll hurt your chances with Stefanie.” 

Right. Stefanie. The girl Kaz is supposed to have a crush on. She’s pretty and blonde and popular. She’s dating some 8th grader right now, so it’s not like he ever stood a chance. 

Still, there’s a part of him that wants people to get the wrong idea about him and Oliver’s relationship. Brief fantasies flash through his head. Images of holding Oliver’s hand and wrapping an arm around his shoulders like the other couples in school. 

His sister’s warning runs through his head. 

Maybe if he pretends long enough, he’ll convince himself that he really does like Stefanie. 

Maybe he’ll convince himself that he’s normal. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i read in the trivia on Kaz's wikia page that Oliver mentioned that Kaz might have a learning disability, so I took that and rolled with it, because it really would explain a lot about his character.
> 
> also. don't expect any real development on the relationship between Oliver and Kaz, because I think the show does a pretty good job of establishing their relationship and i don't think it needs me to add anything. i'd rather write about what we don't see.


	2. The Teens (Ages 14-16)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fun summary: maybe two jokes then back to angst
> 
> not fun summary: emotionally vulnerable boy struggles with emotions and seeks help from the wrong person

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEAVY homophobic biblical scripture references in this chapter. this chapter also contains the implied underage sex, which can also be read as just making out, but I tagged it to be safe. be warned.

When Kaz is fourteen, he finally understands love as he prepares for end of the world.

It’s only been a few months since him and Oliver discovered Mighty Med and Kaz’s feelings for him grew stronger each day, no matter how much he likes to pretend they don’t exist.

It’s been getting harder and harder to lie to Oliver’s face, because he knows Kaz so well. To combat this, he developed a fake tell, something to tip Oliver off whenever Kaz is lying to anyone but him. 

Kaz has become good at hiding who he really is, maybe a little too good. 

To everyone else, he’s just a dumb, goofy guy with generic taste in girls and he’s okay with that. It keeps people from digging beneath the surface.

When Kaz told Oliver that his type is “pretty and shallow”, he was lying, but Oliver doesn’t have to know that. 

“Pretty and shallow” describes the popular girl of every public school, so it’s safe to have a crush on Stefanie. 

Kaz’s mother thinks it’s cute that he’s had a crush on Stefanie since Kindergarten. She wouldn’t find it so cute if she found out who he really has a crush on.

No, Kaz is just a dumb guy that likes shallow girls. No one ever gives a second thought to his intelligence. Purely because he can’t read as well as everyone else his age. No one knows or cares about his penchant for biology due to his experience as a doctor, albeit for patients of unusual physiology. Maybe one day, he’ll try to become a real doctor for normal people. 

Sure, he’ll never be a genius, but he’s not stupid either. Still, he plays up the role of the dumb best friend to make Oliver feel smarter and him feel safer. Kaz is dumb and unassuming, allowing him to slip under everyone’s radar, controlling their perceptions of him. They can’t hurt what he doesn’t let them see. 

But at the end of the world, none of that shit matters. In the face of fatality, Kaz is forced to realize that he can’t ignore his feelings any longer.

So he tells Oliver that he loves him as they brace for the worst. For the first time, Kaz wears his heart on his sleeve. Oliver says he loves Kaz too, but he knows that Oliver doesn’t mean it in the same way Kaz feels about him. He supposes that it doesn’t matter, because Oliver is his best friend and that will just have to be enough for him. 

When it’s all over and they learn that the end of the world was nothing more than a cruel joke, Kaz tries to brush it off like it doesn’t matter. 

He goes back to pretending like everything is normal. Like he’s normal. 

-

When Kaz is fifteen, he learns the hard way that he should never meet his heroes, but that’s difficult to do when he literally works at a hospital for heroes. 

Kaz is so starstruck by Experion that he don’t even question his motives when he asks him to hang out with him. Like Oliver’s crush on Skylar, Kaz has had a crush on Experion forever, but he never expected to actually meet him. When he finally does, Experion is nice and charming and handsome and so many more complimentary adjectives that Kaz don’t have the time to list off. The second their eyes lock, Kaz can feel his guard drop. 

That was his first mistake. 

Experion begins by asking Kaz questions ranging from general to somewhat personal and he answers all of them with enthusiasm. Experion listens attentively, his eyes only on Kaz. No one, not even Oliver, has ever looked at him like that way before. It makes him feel warm in a way that he’s never felt before.

Safe. Experion’s gentle gaze makes Kaz feel safe.

That was his second mistake. 

Later, when Kaz chatting with him on one of the many couches in Mighty Med, Experion trails a hand up Kaz’s arm and places it on his shoulder, “Do you think we could talk somewhere more private?”

His heart leaps at the question and he excitedly leads Experion to a hidden storage closet that he had turned into a designated napping zone. 

Not a moment after Kaz closed the door, Experion presses him up against the door, caging him in.

For a second, he don’t breathe, only feeling the hot breath against his face as Experion’s lips are closing in. 

He kisses Kaz and for a moment he doesn’t react. It’s not like this is his first kiss, but it is his first kiss with a guy and maybe the first kiss he’s actually wanted. 

Experion begins to pull back before Kaz pulls him back in, kissing him for all he’s worth. Kaz is on cloud nine as he’s actually kissing the superhero equivalent of his celebrity crush. It feels like he’s ‘Y/N’ in a Wattpad fanfiction. Not that he reads those. 

For a second, just a second, it feels like he can get over Oliver.

Due to Kaz’s own need for oxygen (since it was established in Skylar Storm #12 that Calderans have the ability of space survivability and thus a lack of need for air), he pulls back, breathing heavily. He tries not to think about whether their ship name would be ‘Experaz’ or ‘Kazperion’.

Experion looks down at him, grinning like a devil, before pulling Kaz in the direction of the cot bed he had set up. 

In that moment, he truly understands how Eve felt in the Garden of Eden. He’s had a taste of the forbidden fruit and all he wants is more.

The snake tempts him and he doesn’t say no. 

That was his third and final mistake. 

He knows how it is: three strikes and you’re out. 

Experion used him and Kaz let him. Now the fate of Mighty Med is on his hands. He told Experion everything he needed to know to use against Kaz and the rest of the superheroes in his care. 

It’s not completely his fault. Kaz was young, impressionable, and eager to please his hero and that was ultimately the cause of he downfall as he was used for all he was worth. Fifteen was too young to be messed with, but Experion didn’t seem to care about right and wrong anymore. 

When all is said and done, Kaz has never felt more genuinely stupid. He let Experion slip past all his defenses and he almost succeeded in taking Skylar. Thankfully, neither them said anything about what happened between them, so Oliver still doesn’t know. If Kaz had it his way, Oliver would never know. 

But he doesn’t always get his way. 

Kaz needs to know the location of the Annihilator’s lair and there is only one person alive that knows.

So he makes the venture with Oliver to Mighty Max. When they enter the section of the prison where Experion is being held, Kaz can feel his eyes on him and only him. It’s like Oliver isn’t there.

“Hey, babe,” Experion’s grin is so sharp, it feels as if it would cut Kaz open if he came too close. He stands and leans against the force field keeping him in the cell, “You here to set me free?”

Kaz’s mouth twists into a scowl as he pointedly ignores the questioning look Oliver sends him, “You wish. Where’s the Annihilator’s lair?”

“I could take you there,” he purrs, looking Kaz over like he’s prey, “It could be fun. Just the two of us…” He trails off, leaving his intentions open to interpretation. 

Kaz knows what he means and ignores it, but there’s a part of him that wants nothing more than to open the force field between them and run into his arms. It’s the smidge of hero worship that Kaz will probably never be able to completely extinguish no matter how much he tries. 

Oliver is still looking between Kaz and Experion, obviously trying to make connections in his head, but at least he can view the bigger picture, because he shakes his head and glares at Experion, “Where is the Annihilator’s lair?”

At Oliver’s line of questioning, Experion reveals everything they need to know. Kaz leaves there with an eyeball and bruised pride. 

Later, Oliver asks him what happened and why Experion called him ‘babe’. It’s hard to think of a good answer, but Kaz manages. He tells Oliver that Experion told him that it means ‘bro’ on Caldara and he seems to buy it, but not completely. 

Still, he lets it go. That’s good enough for now. 

Kaz can’t exactly let his best friend know his deepest secret, because then he knows that Oliver will assume Kaz has a crush on him (which he does, but that’s beside the point) and everything will be ruined. 

Maybe that’s why Kaz dates Spark. She’s blonde and shallow and a bit of a bad girl. She’s exactly his “type”. He’s so desperate to prove to himself, to Oliver, and to his parents that he’s not wicked, but deep down he knows that he’ll never inherit the kingdom of God. 

  
-

  
When Kaz is sixteen, he’s already lost the game he didn’t know he was playing. 

Oliver’s had a crush on Skyler Storm since Kaz has known him. It always seemed like a hopeless crush since Skyler’s never shown any sign of reciprocating those feelings. Not like Kaz was ever competition. She could have Oliver anytime she wanted; all she had to do was ask. 

Kaz never worried about her stealing Oliver away from him (of course he was still the slightest bit jealous whenever they hung out without him), because she didn’t seem to want to. It was hard to be jealous of a relationship that wouldn’t exist. 

All of that changed once Bree entered the equation. Now, Kaz had nothing personally against Bree. She was fine, but she was also hanging all over Oliver like a lovesick puppy and he couldn’t help but want to push her off of him. 

Kaz notices that he isn’t alone in that feeling. Skylar was looking at Bree flirting with Oliver with a certain distain that he couldn’t ignore. 

Whatever Oliver had with Bree was fleeting, but Oliver’s crush on Skylar was so deep-seated and unconditional that Kaz could see exactly how this was going to play out. 

He tries to ignore the crushing feeling in his chest when he realizes that Oliver and Skylar were always meant to be endgame. 

It makes sense, he supposes. Skylar will always be Oliver’s better half and he cares about her more than he’s ever cared about Kaz. In the end, they will be one flesh, man and woman combined to be one, just like God intended. 

(Kaz chooses to ignore the fact that God probably never accounted for aliens and superhumans, because it’s just easier to continue to hate himself on the basis of the hate that been ingrained into him since birth.)

He can’t help but wonder where that leaves him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, i went to sunday school as a child. no, i am not christian anymore. yes, i am gay. no, i am not projecting.


	3. Seventeen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fun summary: chase's love of monopoly comes full circle 
> 
> not fun summary: walmart brand knockoff of the cupid scene in rick riordan's house of hades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gay character gets outed in this chapter. be warned. i also take creative liberty and give these characters their own rooms, because what's the point of donald being a billionaire if the kids in his care can't have their own rooms??

When Kaz is seventeen, he finally realizes that he doesn’t want to get into heaven if it means denying who he is. 

It took seventeen years to reach a point where he can look himself in the mirror and not be disgusted by himself or hear his parents bigoted lectures screaming in his brain.

He is not detestable, wicked, or a deviant. 

He’s just Kaz. 

His parents never questioned his cover story that his was working as an intern for Mr. Davenport, because they have ten other children to keep them busy. Getting away from that house and the constant religious dialogue piercing his brain at every turn surprisingly does a lot of good for his mental health. 

He’s still not “out” to his teammates, but the amount of genuine support he receives on a daily basis makes him feel like they wouldn’t mind if he told them. Maybe he will. 

He has told one person (other than Experion, because Kaz has decided that he doesn’t count). 

The team is on a disaster aid mission when Kaz notices a large chunk of debris headed straight for a civilian desperately trying to get out of its path.

Without a second thought he flies down to scoop her up and away from certain death. When the debris clears, he sets her down and actually gets a good look at her face.

He blinks, dumbfounded, “Kara?” 

It’s the first time he’s spoken her name out loud in years, but he thinks about her all the time. The woman before him is older, a little taller, and has cut her blonde hair short, but it’s her. It’s Kaz’s sister.

Her face twists in confusion before he sees her reach a conclusion, “Kaz?” 

He can’t hold back the smile that makes its way onto his face. With tears prickling the corner of he eyes, he reaches out to embrace her and she falls into his arms. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” he mumbles into her shoulder. 

She holds on just a little tighter, “Me too.”

Another large piece of concrete barely misses them and that when he knows that this moment has to end. 

“I have to get back,” he grab her hands tightly, not wanting to let go yet, “But meet me at the coffee shop on 42nd and 3rd tomorrow at 11. We need to talk.”

“Yeah, we do,” Her eyes are still just as kind as he remembers, “I’ll be there. Don’t be late.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he tells her honestly, “Now, get out of here. I don’t want you getting hurt.” 

She nods and runs off.

Kaz returns to the mission with new passion. He has somewhere to be tomorrow. 

He doesn’t sleep well that night. He’s sure he’s annoying Oliver next door with how much he’s pacing. 

Seven years is a long time to not talk to someone he’s biologically related to and Kaz is nervous and excited at the same time. He used to think about all the things he would say to Kara if he ever saw her again, but, now that he has, he’s stuck. 

The next morning comes whether Kaz is ready or not. At 10:50 AM (He’s not going to be late, because he can fly at least at 72,000 miles an hour. He mostly has to worry about not getting distracted.), he’s heading to the front door when he passes Chase in the hallway.

“Oh, hey, Kaz, I was looking for you,” Chase greets with the hand that isn’t holding a board game, “We’re going to play Monopoly downstairs and I was wondering if you wanted to join us.”

Kaz doesn’t even have to look at his watch to know he’s running out of time, “Listen, Chase, I’d love to, really,” Chase doesn’t look like he believes that, “But my sister is in town and I’m on my way to meet up with her.” 

“Oh!” Chase sounds surprised, “Why don’t you invite her over and we can all play?”

Kara always used to beat Kaz in Monopoly, given that she had the advantage of being five years older than him. He knows that Chase means well, but now’s not really the time for games, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her. I really just want to catch up with her without the stress of introducing her to everyone.”

Chase nods and backs off with a kind smile, “No worries. Have fun with your sister,” he disappears back down the hall. 

Looking at his watch, Kaz notices he only has two minutes. Instead of using the front door, like a normal person, he decides to just take the balcony exit to get there faster. 

Even then, he’s still stumbling into the coffee shop barely a second before the clock strikes eleven. Scanning the seating area, he spots Kara sitting in a corner booth. 

Gathering his confidence, he makes his way over to her, “Hey.”

She looks up with a smile, but it’s guarded, “Hey.”

Kaz sits down and she pushes a coffee cup towards him, “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” she nods in acknowledgement, “I didn’t know what you would like, so I just got you the same thing I got. I hope that’s okay.

He takes a sip and notices it’s a vanilla latte. That would be nice for except-

“It’s oat milk,” Kara cuts off his thought process with the answer to his only concern.

“You remembered,” Kaz is slightly stunned that his sister recalled that he’s lactose intolerant. 

She scoffs, “Like I’d forget, you’re my little brother,” she pauses and a bemused smile comes to her face, “My little brother with… superpowers,” she says the last part lowly, as to not arouse attention from anyone in earshot. 

“Bionics,” Kaz corrects quickly. It sucks that he has to lie to his sister about this, but he can’t break the superhero code, so he still rattles off a scripted story that sounds believable enough, “When I was accepted for my internship at Davenport Industries, I was able to enter a test trial where my human biology was medically infused with bionic technology in order to help other bionic heroes on their missions.”

She stares at him for a moment, long enough for him to doubt himself and his story, before shrugging, “Well, I don’t know shit about bionics, but that’s cool.”

Internally, Kaz wants to let out a sigh of relief, but he knows that the hard part is far from over, “I know why you had to leave home.”

She stiffens, the mood instantly dropping, “And?” she’s obviously gaging his reaction. 

“I understand,” Kaz looks down at his coffee cup, “Turns out I’m also a ‘deviant’,” he quotes their mother. 

He can visibly see any reservations she may have had about him dissolve. He isn’t hurt by it, because he would have done the same in her place. Their parents have the capacity to raise hateful kids and he can’t blame her for assuming he could be one. 

She smiles genuinely, “Welcome to the club.”

Kaz looks up and returns her smile. It’s good to have his sister back. 

Coming out to Kara is one thing, but coming out to his teammates is another thing entirely. No matter how comfortable Kaz is with himself, he wanted to come out on his own terms, but it seems that he can’t even have that. 

Kaz likes Chase. Chase is pretty cool, albeit a bit of a wet blanket 99% of the time, but he’s also thoughtful and resourceful. Kaz considers Chase a good friend, but maybe not good enough that he feels comfortable sharing his entire life story with. 

It was supposed to be a covert reconnaissance mission only, but with them it never is. The team split up into pairs to carefully poke around what has been reported to be the latest hideout of the shapeshifters. 

Kaz has paired up with Chase, hovering behind him as they make their way down the deserted halls with as little walking noise as possible. 

It doesn’t seem to be enough. Before long, a figure pops out at the end of the hallway and Kaz freezes in place. 

“Hello, Kaz,” Experion, or what appears to be Experion, waves, “Did you miss me?” 

With an analytical eye, Kaz looks him over. Almost all of the details are right, but the logo is wrong. It’s not really Experion and Kaz feels stupid for even thinking for a second that it could actually be him.

Kaz lowers himself to the ground and crosses his arms, giving Riker or Roman or whoever it is an unimpressed look, “The symbol is missing the two indents in the middle. Good try. I’ll give you credit for getting his hair right.”

The shapeshifter laughs, but doesn’t shift out of their current physical form, “Wow, you’re not as stupid as you look. Shocker,” they put their hands on their hips in a feminine way that suggests that it could be Reese, “Word on the street is that you and Experion have a bit of history. Similar to me and Chasie,” she gives a flirty wave to Chase, confirming that it is, in fact, Reese. 

“He pretended to be my friend and then he betrayed me and Skylar the first chance he got,” he states bluntly, but he knows that’s not going to be the end of it.

“That’s not what I heard,” she turns into a black cloud before re-materializing behind him, still wearing Experion’s face, “See, Experion told me that you and he were more than just friends.”

Kaz turns around quickly to face her, but she’s now on the other side of the room, “Shut up,” he shoots a fire ball at her, knowing it won’t do her damage, but he has to do something to keep her from continuing. 

She dodges it easily before shifting into Kaz, “Yeah. He told me all about how eager you were to get behind closed doors with him,” it’s like looking in a mirror as she mimics his voice, “‘Oh, Experion! You’re so handsome! Of course I’ll hook up with you!’,” she mocks.

Kaz feels his face turn red against his will, whether in embarrassment or anger is unsure.

“Leave him alone!” Chase shouts from next to him, using his molecular kinesis to throw two barrels her way.

Some part of Kaz is thankful for Chase defending him, but right now all he wants is for her to stop talking and he feels powerless to stop her. Then he gets an idea.

She turns back into a black cloud and then reappearing as Experion again, “You know, it’s funny. He said that you had a crush on Oliver,” she shifts into Oliver, “So, what’s it like? Seeing the one you love fall in love,” she then takes the form of Skylar, “With somebody else?”

“I said,” Kaz sneers, “Shut up!” he launches another fire ball that she avoids again.

Still disguised as Skylar, she makes her way to Chase while still looking at Kaz, “Oh, do your teammates not know about you?” she fakes ignorance in a way that makes Kaz want to punch her in the face, “Is that why Chase looks like he’s at a tennis match?”

Chase is looking between Kaz and Reese, like he’s putting the puzzle pieces together in his mind. Kaz tries not to let it get to him. 

“Oh, that’s right,” Reese says like she just had a revelation when she’s really just being condescending, “Mommy and daddy dearest don’t approve, so now you think the world’s out to get you,” she shakes her, Skylar’s, head with a laugh, “My, my, my… you sure had loose lips back then. In more ways than one,” she winks. 

Instead of reacting how she wants, he pours all the confidence and authority he can into a simple phrase, “This is over.”

She turns back into Oliver, taking slow, deliberate steps towards Kaz, “Is it now?”

For once, he has the upper hand, “It is, because my last fire ball burst the main gas line in this building,” he smirks, because now it’s his turn to be smug, “If I snap my fingers, this place will go up in flames.”

Chase turns to him in a panic, “Kaz, what are you doing? Are you insane? We can’t burn down their hideout! We’re still in it!”

Both Kaz and Reese ignore him. 

“So what?” She shrugs, obviously feigning nonchalance. 

“In Rodissius issue #26, it was established that while fire generally doesn’t interfere with his powers, explosions can cause serious damage. Molecules can’t shift while under extreme exothermic pressure,” Kaz shrugs, equally nonchalant, “Your choice.”

She squints her eyes at him and crosses her arms, “You’re bluffing.” 

Kaz can feel the gas in the air begging to ignite by his flames, but he restrains himself. He lifts up his hand to snap as he takes a step into her personal space, “Do you want to find out?”

For a moment, no one speaks. 

“Fine,” Reese shifts back into herself, “We’re gone. Don’t expect us to come back here again.” 

He nods and puts his hand back down, but she’s already gone. 

“Kaz,” Chase hesitantly makes his way over to the man in question, “What was that?”

Said man ignores his question. Instead, he walks past him toward the exit, “Come on, there’s nothing left for us here.” 

He doesn’t wait for Chase to catch up. 

The next few days are painful. Kaz is not avoiding Chase, he isn’t. He’s just leaving the room whenever he sees Chase enter and intentionally not talking to him and not returning eye contact whenever they do have to be in the same room and not partnering up with him during training and—

Okay, so maybe he is avoiding Chase. 

Kaz don’t know how long this awkward tension will last, but he is prepared to avoid him forever if that’s what it takes. 

He can tell that Oliver finds it a bit strange that Kaz keeps hanging out with him and Skylar when Kaz had been hanging out with Chase more and more these days, but Oliver doesn’t question it and Kaz is thankful for that.

Oliver is still his best friend, but Kaz doesn’t think he’s in love with him anymore. It’s hard for Kaz to love someone that will obviously never love him back. He still cares about Oliver, but the unrequited affection is only a dull ache compared to what it was before.

Kaz supposed that he has Kara to thank for that. He’s been over at her apartment a lot lately and recently met her girlfriend, Jodie. They seem to fit together like perfectly made puzzle pieces. 

Seeing them together, it made Kaz realize that love doesn’t leave someone begging for the attention of somebody else. He knows that he’ll never have Oliver’s complete attention as long as he has Skylar in his life. 

Even when Oliver gives his all to Skylar and she takes only what she wants from him (although does Oliver take creepy photos and videos and even her hair sometimes and… Why is Skylar giving him a chance? Why did Kaz like him again?). It’s not an equal transaction, but they seem happy.

Yeah, Oliver is happy with Skylar and Kaz just had to learn to be happy for them.

It also helped that he was finally able to talk about his feelings to someone who wouldn’t judge him and actually understands what he’s going through.

Besides, Skylar has always been more than just an object of his jealously. Kaz genuinely does care for her and would maybe consider her his second best friend. Not that he would ever tell her that, because he does have a reputation to uphold. 

Whenever Skylar and Oliver gently insinuate that they want “alone time”, Kaz takes that as his cue to leave. When that inevitably happens, he finds himself spending more time in his room, because it’s hard to always avoid Chase when he lives with him. 

Kaz is reading up on the back-issues of the Rodissius’s comic series subsequent spin-off comic series that focus on his adventures with fellow hero Polyphlegmus, because there has to be another weakness that they just haven’t found yet. 

That’s when there’s a knock at his door. Maybe if he just ignores it, whoever it is will go away.

There’s another knock. 

He ignores it again.

“Kaz,” It’s Chase, “I know you’re in there.” 

He’s baiting Kaz to reply. To answer the door. To do something. 

He stays silent and just hopes Chase will give up. 

“Please,” he says quieter, pleading almost, “Can we please talk?” 

Kaz doesn’t want to talk. He would rather crawl back into the closet and spend the rest of his days as a hermit. 

But he also knows that the incident with Reese is affecting the team dynamics. The last thing he wants to do is let down the team (again). 

Kaz stands up and opens the door, but he still isn’t looking at Chase. Kaz sits back down on his bed. He can hear the door close and the bed dipping next to him. 

They’re both silent for a while, waiting for the other person to speak. 

Eventually, Chase breaks it.

“Did I ever tell you about Sebastian?” He starts quietly. 

“No, you haven’t,” Kaz’s voice is just as muted, careful not break the moment they’ve created.

“I thought he loved me,” Chase sounds heartbroken and resentful at the same time. Kaz looks up at him, shocked by the implications of that statement, “Turns out he was just using me to further his Bionic Rebellion and I played right into his hands.” 

Kaz doesn’t respond. Instead, he just lets Chase keep talking. 

“I told him everything he needed to know and I upgraded his abilities. I gave him my entire heart and everything that came with it just for it to blow up in my face,” his voice was tight as he talked, “Then, when he turned on us, he decided to air out all of my dirty laundry in front of Bree and Adam."

“I had no idea,” Kaz says quietly, “I’m sorry,” he doesn’t know if he’s saying it to comfort himself or Chase. 

After a pause, Chase continues, “My point is: I know what it’s like to be scared. To be used. To be afraid to trust, but also so desperate to connect with someone that your guard just… drops,” he gives a short laugh, but there’s no humor in it, “I guess that’s why Reese was able to trick me again. I never learn.” 

Letting the gravity of that statement sink in, Kaz is quiet for a moment. When it does, he chokes out a strangled, teary laugh, “God… we’re so fucked up.”

Hesitantly, Chase reaches for Kaz’s hand, “I guess we’re not that different after all.”

Kaz intertwines their fingers together, with a sad smile gracing his lips, “I guess not.”

For a while, they just sat in the comfortable silence. 

Letting his head fall onto Chase’s shoulder, Kaz closes his eyes, “Do you think we’ll ever be normal?”

Even though he said it, Kaz isn’t quite sure what he means by ‘normal’. He doesn’t mean normal as in heterosexual; his internalized homophobia doesn’t run quite that deep anymore. Maybe he just means not damaged. Normal people don’t have this mountain of complicated emotional damage to carry around with them forever. He just wants to be okay, but he isn’t quite sure how to get there.

“Well,” Chase said after a moment, “You have illogical, magical superpowers and I have scientifically designed bionic enhancements and combined we have little to no emotional intelligence.” 

“How optimistic,” Kaz deadpans. 

“I’m just saying that we’ll never be normal,” Chase half-shrugs, but there’s something hopeful in his tone, “But maybe we can make our own normal.”

Kaz gently squeezes Chase’s hand, “I’d like that.”

After that, Kaz finds himself actively seeking out Chase’s company again, because there’s finally someone in his life that has experienced the same things he has. 

That’s when he decides to let Chase meet his sister and, by extension, her girlfriend. 

Jodie takes to Chase immediately, calling him a ‘keeper’ (even though they’re not dating), but Kara is a little more cautious. It isn’t until Chase promises her that he won’t hurt Kaz (even though they’re still not dating) that she comes around to the idea of him hanging around. 

Kaz knows that the team has been wondering for a while where he disappears to every Saturday afternoon, but now Chase knows and sometimes comes with him.

“Come on!” Kara shouts, standing up and gesturing towards Chase, “How is that fair? He just got all four of the railroads!”

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game,” Chase smirks smugly while holding out his hand.

Kaz is trying to keep back a snicker as he’s dealing Chase his change after buying the last railroad. While everyone is distracted, he sneaks a few hundreds and a five hundred from the bank into his own money pile. What? It really is the only benefit of being the banker anyway. 

“The ‘player’ is a bionic boy with super intelligence!” Kara counters, pointing at him in accusation. 

“Yes, honey,” Jodie sounds exasperated while gently guiding her girlfriend back onto the couch, “Just let it go.”

Sure, Reese and her degenerate siblings are still out there and they still have the list, but sitting around the coffee table with three of Kaz’s favorite people, watching as Chase absolutely decimates everyone in a game of Monopoly, he doesn’t think that there’s anywhere else he’d rather be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> five points to whoever guesses what the names Kara and Jodie are references to. also I'm irrationally proud of the name Polyphlegmus. get it? it's like Polyphemus from from the Odyssey like Rodissius is a play on Odysseus? phlegm is also of greek origin and implies mucus related powers? whatever i think i'm funny


	4. Eighteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fun summary: 2 times Kaz and Chase had their first kiss interrupted + 1 time they didn't. 
> 
> not fun summary: the gang gets fed up and straight up murders the shapeshifters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please note: there's some non-graphic murder in this chapter, but considering that all of the main characters have indirectly or directly attempted and/or committed some form of murder in canon, i think we should just count it as canon-typical violence.

When Kaz is eighteen, the Elite Force’s war with the shapeshifters reaches the point of no return. 

After Mighty Med was destroyed, Kaz tried to salvage anything he could from the wreckage. Yes, some of it may have been junk, but the same “junk” has helped him in saving hundreds of heroes in the past. He had hoped that what he recovered would prove to be useful in the fight against the shapeshifters. 

It took him a while to sort through all of it, but, when he finally get to the last box, he finds what could be the answer to all of their problems. 

It’s risky, but it may be the only chance they have. 

In the past year, routinely fighting Rodissius’s children has not gotten any easier. It feels like they’re constantly one step ahead of the team at all times and there have been some good heroes lost while trying to stop them. 

Well, Kaz can’t take it anymore.

He bursts into mission command, where Chase is tinkering with some electronics, holding a vial. 

“Chase?” Kaz says, somehow sounding uncertain yet determined at the same time.

To his credit, Chase drops everything to give Kaz his complete attention, “What’s wrong?”

“I have an idea, but it could be dangerous,” he warn before carefully handing Chase the vial, “That is a sample of Black Widower’s poison that I was able to save from Mighty Med.”

His face lights up as he catches on to Kaz’s line of thinking, “If we can replicate it…”

“…we can weaponize it and take out the shapeshifters for good,” Kaz finishes for him. 

Lifting it up to inspect it, he raises his eyebrow at Kaz, “How can you be certain that this is going to work on them?”

The man in question swallows, getting flashes of Skylars lifeless body overtaken by the poison, “Black Widower’s poison as the capability to kill almost any superhero, shapeshifters included…It also killed Skylar.”

“What? But she’s-“

“Alive. Now. Horace,” he tries not to grimace at the use of a name of just another person that he’s lost, “was able to resurrect her using his Caduceo powers, enabling him to bring people back from the dead.”

“Ignoring how that makes zero sense,” Kaz resists the urge to roll his eyes at the vintage arguement, “Why can’t he just revive every hero that dies? It seems selfish to not do so when he has the power.”

He tries not to take it personally. Kaz still struggles opening up to Chase, despite the weird flirty-banter they’ve developed over the past year. Kaz may be comfortable around him now, but there’s still a lot he hasn’t told Chase. 

“Well, first of all, he can only resurrect people five times and second… he didn’t make it out of Mighty Med in time,” Kaz says the last part quietly, looking away.

“Oh… you never told me.”

He shakes his head, looking back at Chase with newfound resolve, “That doesn’t matter now. I won’t let his death be in vain.” 

“Right,” he steps closer to Kaz, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder, “We will end this. I promise.”

Kaz could make a remark about not making promise that can’t be kept, but he just smiles slightly before getting back on topic, “I figured that if we could reverse engineer the poison, we can also make an antidote incase it ever falls into the wrong hands again.”

“Kaz, this is a great idea, ” he smiles softly in a way that feels like it’s reserved just for him as he gently moves his hand down to grab Kaz’s, “Sometimes I wish you would let the others see how smart you actually are.”

Trying not to blush at the attention, Kaz shrugs, “It would shatter the illusion.”

“It’s too late,” Chase’s voice is almost like a whisper as his face gets closer, “I see you.” 

“Well, you’d be the first,” Kaz says, equally quiet as his eyes flicker down to Chase’s lips. Just a couple more inches and-

“Hey, guys!” Bree enters mission command as Kaz and Chase jump apart from one another, “What’s up?”

Kaz hastily makes his way to the hyperlift, ignoring the look that Bree is giving him, “Chase, why don’t you fill Bree in on the plan while I go… not be here? Okay, bye!” 

Right now, Chase looks like Kaz just left him for the wolves, but that’s okay. As long as Kaz is able to get away, he’s fine with leaving Chase at Bree’s mercy. 

The next week, there’s a team meeting in mission command.

“So we’re all in agreement?” Chase looks around the room, gaging reactions. 

Skylar glances at Oliver, seeing him nod, before nodding herself, “We are.”

“The ball is in their court,” Bree adds, “The next time they decide to strike, we take them out.” 

Kaz opens the silver case, displaying a set of poison darts and a gun, “Each of us will be issued three poison darts and one dart gun. The gun will go into your right ankle holster,” he looks up from the case, more serious than most of them have ever seen him, “If you’re going to shoot, don’t miss.”

Nodding, Chase opens a separate case, containing multiple vials of a blue liquid, “But, just in case of an emergency, we have the antidote. So, if one of us accidentally gets poisoned or if it falls into enemy hands, we’ll be prepared.”

“Good plan, Chase,” Oliver comments after taking in the items on the table. 

“Actually,” Chase turns to beam at Kaz with pride, “This was all Kaz’s idea. I just helped with the science aspect of it.” 

Just like that, all of their eyes were on Kaz. He refrains from shifting uncomfortably at the unexpected attention, “It was nothing.” 

“Oh,” Oliver obviously tries not to sound surprised and fails, “Well, then, good plan, Kaz. I never doubted you for a second.”

“Uh huh,” Kaz rolls his eyes, “Alright. I think that’s all we needed to talk about. Right?” he turns to Chase for confirmation.

“Yeah,” Chase nods, “Meeting dismissed.”

At that, everyone began to file out into the hyperlift. Well, everyone except Kaz and Chase. 

Bree calls back to them, “You guys coming?”

“Go ahead, we’ll catch up,” Kaz waves her off. 

She shrugs and presses the button for her, Skylar, and Oliver to go up to the living room. 

Once they were gone, Chase turns to Kaz, “Can I tell you something?” he seems more nervous than usual.

“Of course you can,” Kaz said, guided by the urge to reassure Chase. 

Chase swallows, “If this fails-“

Kaz cut him off firmly, “It won’t.”

“But if it does,” he emphasizes, “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Noticing Chase’s shaking hand, Kaz reaches out to hold it in his own.

Chase looks down at their intertwined hands and visibly calmes down. He looks back up at Kaz with a soft smile and, with renewed confidence, takes a step forward, “I just…” Chase trails off, seemingly unable to find the words.

“Yeah?” Kaz murmurs back, his eyes drifting to Chase’s lips (yet again. He’s been doing a lot of that lately). 

“Yeah,” Chase’s voice is just as low as he leans in.

Kaz moves to meet him halfway. He can feel Chase’s breath on his face and-

“Whoops,” Skylar bursts into the room.

Chase and Kaz jump apart, their faces flushed red. 

“I forgot my glasses in here,” she quickly grabs a pair of glasses that were on the table before making a 180 back to the hyperlift. 

“You don’t even wear glasses!” Kaz calls after her before burying his burning face in his hands. 

As their luck would have it, the next time Kaz is that close to Chase it’s when Chase is dying in his arms. 

The shapeshifter siblings had descended on Centium City in their latest attack, but, this time, the Elite Force was prepared. 

All thirteen of them appeared as a black swarm, so the plan was to separate them.

Kaz had lead a smaller swarm down an alleyway before he stopped and let them come to him. 

“Gonna stick as a swarm, huh?” Kaz taunted, “What? Too ugly to show your face?” He had hoped that by antagonizing them, he could trick them into entering a human form. 

It seemed to do the trick as the swarm separated into two teenage girls, twins by the looks of it. One of them angrily sent a gust of wind towards him, knocking him to the ground, inadvertently giving him the perfect opportunity to reach for his dart gun. 

“Who are you calling ugly? Me or her?” The girl on the left angrily gestured between her and her sister.

“Well, he was obviously talking about you. Have you looked in the mirror lately?” The girl on the right laughed like she didn’t share a face with her sister. 

The girls started bickering, practically ignoring Kaz.

He had the shot, so he took it, firing his dart gun at one sister before quickly reloading and repeating the action on the other. 

They laughed.

The girl on the right plucked the dart from her neck, “Seriously? Is this the best you can do? I thought you had superpowers.”

“Yeah, I’m kind of disappointed,” her sister agreed. 

It took a second for them to notice. 

“Hey, wait,” The girl on the left stumbled, “I feel… funny.”

The girl on the right crumpled to the floor, glaring up at Kaz, “What did you do to us?”

“Oh,” Kaz smirked at their demise, “You can thank Black Widower for that,” he glanced at his watch, “Any second now, the poision will cause your molecules to destabilize until you cease to exist.” 

The twins screamed in unison until their bodies turned into nothing but dust in the night sky.

He was reloading his dart gun with his last dart when he heard Chase yell.

“Kaz, behind you!”

Kaz didn’t have a chance to react before he was being pushed out of the way. When he was able to look, he saw Chase lying on the ground.

That leads them to now.

“Chase!” Kaz scrambles to Chase’s side, where he notices that Chase was unconscious from whatever hit him. He looks up to see Reese and probably another sister, “What did you do to him?”

“Umbrakinetic blast,” the sister shrugs, “I wouldn’t get your hopes up that he’ll recover from that,” she looks at them for a second before turning to Reese, “Isn’t that your fake ex-boyfriend?”

“Oh, of course. How rude of me not to introduce you,” she feigns a good-natured smile, “Chase, Kaz, meet Rydel. Rydel, meet fake ex-boyfriend and fake ex-boyfriend’s boyfriend,” she lets out a short, malicious laugh, “How cute that Experion’s and my leftovers got together.”

“Awe,” the sister, Rydel, fake-gushes, “I guess the lovebirds will die together too,” her smile drops as she charges up what looks like another dark energy blast.

Kaz has one dart and, well, he’s going to make it count. 

He shoots her right between the eyes, breaking her concentration as she falls to the floor. 

Reese yells and blasts Kaz with her lazer projection, throwing him back against the alley wall, “What did you do to her?”

Kaz doesn’t answer in favor of smiling at her, “Your lazer light show doesn’t really work on someone like me, sweetheart,” he shrugs, getting back on his feet, “Even if it did, you’re too late.”

“Too late for what?” She pushes him back against the wall with more force before she freezes and joins her sister on the floor. 

They scream as their bodies turn to dust like their siblings. 

“That,” Bree says, coming from behind while dramatically blowing imaginary smoke off of her dart gun. 

Kaz runs back to Chase’s side and Bree joins him.

“What happened? Is he going to be okay?”

Taking in Chase’s pale face, Kaz can feel himself losing hope, “I… I don’t know. Normally, I would know what to do to fix this, but, given Chase’s bionics, there’s too many unknown variables to know if it will work."

“Don’t talk like that,” Bree says firmly, “Come on, let’s get him back to base and figure this out.”

There’s still one problem.

“What about the rest of the shapeshifters?” Three of them can’t leave while danger is still eminent. 

Bree shakes her head, “They’re taken care off. It was just Reese and her left.”

Kaz looks down at Chase before looking up at Bree, determined, “Let’s go.” 

Back in mission command, Chase is on the table, looking as lifeless as ever while Kaz paces back and forth, racking his brain for a solution. 

Skylar and Oliver enter the room not much later.

“How is he?” Skylar rushes to Chases side and, for once, Oliver doesn’t make a jealous comment. 

“His vitals are continuing to drop,” Kaz doesn’t stop pacing. 

Oliver walks over to Kaz and forces him to stop pacing, “What was he hit with?”

“An umbrakinetic blast,” Kaz shakes his head, “We can’t treat him with light energy to counteract the dark energy, because we have no idea how to it may have reacted with his bionics.” 

“So we just have to let him die? Can’t we do something?” Bree sounds just as desperate as Kaz feels. 

“Wait,” Oliver says like a lightbulb just went off in his brain, “Wasn’t Techon blasted by Shadow Storm before? His positive energy was over-riddled with negative energy, pulling him towards death rather than life.”  
  
Kaz catches onto Oliver’s line of thought, hope bubbling in his chest, “They couldn’t figure out how to save him because of the complications concerning the meteorite in his chest, so his girlfriend kissed him to say goodbye, but her kiss acted as an anchor between Techon and the living world and pulled him back.”

Bree blinks in realization, “So, one of us needs to kiss Chase? Like as in true love’s kiss?” Her face scrunches in disgust, “Count me out.”

Skylar takes a step back, “I’m not kissing Chase.”

“Yeah, you aren’t!” Oliver agrees, before recognizing how aggressive he sounds and tries to move on, “And, uh, it’s gonna be a no from me too.”

Looking around the room, Kaz notices how they’re all staring at him. In that moment, he knows that he hasn’t been as subtle about his feelings for Chase as he thinks he was. He sighs, “Was I being that obvious?”

“Yep,” Bree shrugs, like it’s not a big deal. In the wide scheme of things, Kaz guesses that his feelings for Chase aren’t as monumental as they feel. 

“So obvious,” Skylar agrees like she didn’t purposely interrupt them about to kiss to grab glasses that she doesn’t even wear. 

Oliver looks between the three of them, “What was obvious? What are you guys talking about?”

Bree gives Oliver a deadpan look before turning to Skylar, “What exactly do you see in him again?”

Skylar just shakes her head. 

From there, Kaz just tunes them out. Looking at Chase, Kaz’s heart hurts. Chase is strong and warm. He shouldn’t be this weak and cold. Kaz hopes this works, because he doesn’t know what he’s going to do if it doesn’t. 

One kiss. Chase's life depends on one kiss. 

Taking a shaky breath, Kaz leans down and presses his lips to Chase’s. His eyes are closed, but there seems to be a light emanating from Chase that’s so bright that Kaz’s eyelids can’t block out all of it. 

When Kaz does pull away, he opens his eyes to see the light fading. He steps back and waits for something, anything, to happen. 

“Did it work?” Skylar speaks up from next to him. 

Chase still isn’t moving.

“I don’t know,” Kaz says honestly. 

Suddenly, Chase gasps and sits up, like he’s rising from the dead. 

They all let out a sigh of relief.

Kaz throws himself at Chase, wrapping his arms around him, holding on so tight like Chase will disappear if he lets go, “Don’t you ever do that to me again or I will kill you myself,” he threatens as he buries his head into the nook of Chase’s neck. 

Chase only wraps his arms around Kaz, holding on just as tight, “You can’t get rid of me that easily, Fire Boy.”

Reluctantly, Kaz releases Chase so that Bree can get to him.

She charges in and hugs her brother like her life depends on it and Chase returns the gesture with as much vigor. 

When they separate, Chase looks concerned, “Did we win?”

Bree nods with a reassuring smile, “It’s over.”

“Good,” Chase visibly calms down and reaches for Kaz’s hand, holding it gently, “Did you just save my life by kissing me?”

Okay, sure, it sounds silly out loud. Kaz flushes in embarrassment, “I…Yes,” he admits before trying to refocus on the matter at hand, “How do you feel?”

Chase shrugs, “I don’t know,” he smiles coyly, “Maybe I need another kiss. Just to make sure it worked.” 

Kaz rolls his eyes at the poor attempt at flirting, but plays along, if only to kiss Chase again, “If you insist,” he leans in to capture Chase’s lips in real kiss, Kaz’s free hand coming up to land on the nape of Chase’s neck. 

The hand that isn’t holding Kaz’s hand, slips into his hair, keeping him in place. Kaz lets out a small noise of contentment at the action. 

“Okay,” Bree announces, but Kaz and Chase may her no mind, “That is our cue to leave.”

“Right behind you,” Skylar says, dragging Oliver along with her. 

“Wait,” Oliver says, but he isn’t putting up much of a fight, “Why are they kissing again? I thought it worked the first time?”

Bree smacks the palm of her hand against her forehead, “He’s hopeless.”

“Believe me, I know,” Skylar says while hitting the button in the hyperlift to take them up to the penthouse. 

Eventually, Kaz has to pull back, because they, unfortunately, both need oxygen to survive. He’s breathless, but he’s also never been so happy in his life. 

“I didn’t get to say it before,” Chase sounds just as out of breath, “But I am madly, irrevocably, completely in love with you.” 

Kaz kind of figured that out, but it’s still nice to hear, “I had hoped my actions would speak for me,” he teased, “But, if I must say it, I suppose I’m also in love with you.” 

“I sure hope so, otherwise this would be kind of awkward,” Chase chuckles and Kaz thinks it’s the sweetest sound he’s ever heard. Chase’s gaze turns more thoughtful, “So, what now? What do we do now that it’s over?” 

Kaz pulls him into a heated kiss before playfully tugging on Chase's bottom lip with his teeth as he pulls away. He drags a finger down Chase’s chest, “I can think of a few things…” 

It takes Chase a second for the implication to sink in, but his eyes go wide when it does and he practically leaps off the table, dragging Kaz by the hand to the hyperlift, “Well, what are we waiting for?”

Throwing his head back with a laugh, Kaz follows him without complaint. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am a firm believer that clichés aren't cliché if they're gay, because the clichés tend to only have been applied to straight characters. so, yeah, that's why this chapter is chalked full of them. epilogue next.


	5. Twenty-Two (Epilogue)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fun summary: pure domestic fluff 
> 
> not fun summary: Kaz is late for work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really wanted to give them a dog, but SOMEBODY is allergic to dogs... wonder who that could be... *cough* chase *cough*

When Kaz is twenty-two, he has the perfect life that he never thought he’d be lucky enough to have. 

It’s early when his alarm clock goes off. He reaches his hand out to snooze it for five more minutes, but he’s held back by the arm wrapped around his waist. 

Normally, Kaz would like nothing more than to snuggle back into the warmth surrounding him, but that doesn’t stop the clock from blaring at him. 

“Chase,” Kaz nudges his boyfriend, who’s become a deep sleeper ever since Douglas rendered the capsule obsolete due to making its function remote. 

Chase only mumbles incoherently while trying to pull Kaz impossibly closer. 

Kaz sighs and resigns himself to not getting those five extra minutes before extracting himself from the arms of his octopus-like boyfriend. 

Standing up, Kaz turns off the alarm clock. 5:30AM always comes too soon, but he has to be at work by 7AM (on a Saturday, no less. sometimes being an adult sucks), so he really has no choice in the matter. He looks on as Chase rolls onto Kaz’s side of the bed and just continues to sleep as if nothing happened. 

Rolling his eyes, Kaz makes his way to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee. He had the coffee pot on a timer last night, so it’s ready by the time he makes it to the counter. Grabbing a mug, he pours himself a cup before making his way to the terrace to look out over the city as the sun rises.

This view only reminds him of how much he can’t afford this apartment and how glad he is that his boyfriend’s father is a billionaire.

The city is quiet. He supposes he has some hand in that. 

Ever since the Elite Force defeated the shapeshifters, they’ve finally been able to breathe. Superheroes were able to go back to saving people everyday without constantly looking over their shoulder. The Elite Force is still active, but they hardly went on as many missions these days. It’s mostly natural disaster aid now, for which they were grateful. 

Besides, it freed up their time to actually live like civilians. Chase was busy getting his doctorate in pretty much every kind of engineering, which would be insane for anyone that isn’t a bionically enhanced genius. Speaking of doctorates, Kaz was finally able to go to medical school to become a real, certified doctor. He got his undergrad degree in biology and with Davenport’s “internship” on his application alongside his MCAT scores, he got into his medical school of choice. It’s hard work, but it’s familiar and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Chase would argue that Kaz is already a magic doctor with what he did at Mighty Med, but Kaz has higher ambitions than that. 

Mighty Med. 

Once they were able to serve their own brand of justice to the shapeshifters that destroyed it, the remaining superheroes were able to regroup and rebuild. 

Given that Mr. Davenport is always ready to slap his name on a building, he was more than willing to build a human hospital to disguise a superhuman hospital. 

It was hard, getting everything up and running again. Replacing equipment, replacing staff, training staff… it took work, but Kaz and Oliver weren’t alone. Not anymore. 

They were actually able to hire Jordan, who they hadn’t seen in a long time, but they knew she knows just as much about superheroes as them and would be able to help. Her experience as a vet technician also comes in handy when dealing with humanoid animal patients. 

Once they told her their secret, they were punched, badly, but, overall, she took it pretty well. It was good having her back in their lives. Kaz would be lying if he said he didn’t miss her while they were apart. 

There’s still a lot to do. Mighty Med is still understaffed and you can’t exactly advertise a job position for a secret society. 

Sometimes it’s hard to balance everything going on in his life and still find time for his friends and family. By family, he mainly means Kara, but also a few of his other siblings, like Kyle (the good ones anyway; some of them are beyond reconciliation). He hasn’t talked to his parents since he turned eighteen and doesn’t plan to do so ever again, no matter how much they try to contact him. 

It’s freeing to be able to surround himself with only the people he wants to surround himself with. 

He’s broken out of his thoughts when a voice sounds from behind him. 

“I don’t get how you’re never cold. It’s freezing out here,” Chase says from the doorway, shivering. He has a point, it is close to 40 degrees Fahrenheit and Kaz is only wearing his boxers. 

“I do have fire powers,” he reminds, shrugging, “They keep me warm.”

“Yeah? Well, come keep me warm,” Chase drags him back inside and Kaz doesn’t put up much of a fight. 

“Hmm. How do you suggest I go about that?” Kaz sets his empty coffee mug down on the table so he can wrap both of his arms around Chase’s neck. 

“Come back to bed,” Chase toys with the waistband of Kaz’s boxers before using them to pull him closer in order to kiss him. 

Kaz would never get tired of this, even after four years, and hopefully he would get to kiss Chase everyday for the rest of their lives. Kaz smiled against Chase’s lips before pulling away the slightest bit, to stare into half-lidded eyes of the man he loved, “Yeah, I could be convinced.”

After Chase had thoroughly distracted him from getting ready for work, Kaz only has 30 minutes to get out the door and to Mighty Med. He’s scrambling around the apartment with one shoe on while simultaneously shoveling spoonfuls of Loopy-Loops into his mouth. 

“Babe?” He calls from where he’s stuffing files into a briefcase (seriously, he has a briefcase…when did he become such an adult?), “Have you seen my left shoe?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s in the hall,” Chase says back from the bathroom where he’s taking his own sweet time getting ready, because he doesn’t have to be at Davenport Industries until 9AM. Donald has slowly been giving Chase more responsibilities in the running of his company, setting Chase up to take over for when he eventually inherits it.

Sure enough, when Kaz walks into the hallway next to their bedroom he finds his shoe. Grumbling a little, he puts it on. Even before looking at his watch he knows that he’s running late. 

Grabbing a coat (not because he needs it, but he’d rather civilians not look at him like he’s insane in 50 degree weather), he heads to the front door. 

Chase follows him, “You won’t forget that we’re going to your sister’s for dinner tonight, right? It’s game night and she’s invited the whole team.” 

Kaz actually did remember that, but he needs Chase to remain unsuspicious, so he feigns a sheepish smile.

“You forgot, didn’t you?” Chase gives him a slightly annoyed, but overall fond look. 

“I forgot,” he lies. Normally, he would never lie to Chase, but it’s all part of his master plan, “That’s why I have you.”

Raising an eyebrow (in true Davenport fashion), Chase playfully challenges Kaz’s words, “Oh, not because you love and care about me, but because I remember your schedule for you?”

“Now, you’re getting it,” Kaz plays along before pulling Chase into quick kiss, “I’ll see you this evening. I love you,” Kaz would also never get tired of telling Chase how much he loves him, even if only to see Chase’s face melt into that perfect, soft smile of his.

Like the smile he’s wearing right now.

“I love you too,” Chase leans in for just one more kiss before stepping back, “Be safe.”

“You too,” Kaz says as he’s heading out the door. 

Kaz doesn’t know the future holds for them, but he knows that he can handle whatever life throws their way as long as he has Chase by his side. Thinking of the small velvet box that’s been burning a hole in his jacket pocket for the past three weeks, Kaz hopes to finally pop the question tonight, surrounded by the people he cares about most. 

(Spoiler Alert: Chase says yes.)

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed this, because i will never write another story like this again. this is closure for my mind and that's it.


End file.
